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This Is Me--2019 A to Z Theme

The Challenge of 2019 was the 10th! Since this was kind of a milestone year for A to Z my theme was a retrospective of sorts, looking at my 10 years as a blogger as well as ruminations about my life as it is and as I hope it yet can be. I've got places to be and people to see along the way. Hope you'll join me for this part of my journey...

Always a work in progress--welcome to my blog.

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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Everybody Knows (#BOTB)

"Everybody knows that the dice are loaded"-- "The system is rigged" Bernie Sanders might say, Of course this is correct--isn't it? This system is rigged in favor of a power beyond little control of the average voter. Everybody knows.

Rigged or not, running for president as we are seeing more than ever over the past many months is a grueling process. One might wonder what it is that compels anyone to put themselves in a position of such scrutiny that their lives become open books to the world.

With the internet, full disclosure of a candidate's background is an ongoing process in the hands of legitimate investigation as well as the most outlandish smears unlike anything the press of the past was ever able to concoct. Now the press is not so much of a news dissemination service as it is a medium of influence and manipulation of public opinion. Truth is often indistinguishable from lies and many people don't care that much anyway.

So the mud is slung and the people wallow in it. In the process we all become dirtied and disillusioned. Most of all, the candidates themselves are stripped naked and their dirtiest secrets are revealed. Their families are put under the microscope and everyone touched by the candidates gets some of the filth rubbed off on them.

The political scene is nastier than ever. The candidates who run for president are risking being tainted for life if not being totally ruined. Friends, allies, and families can be split apart. Each election in recent decades has brought more distrust among the parties, the factions, and the people who make up an increasingly more divided nation.

Whoever wins the 2016 election as well as whoever loses will be exposed for things they've said and done as well as things they have been accused of saying and doing. The next president of the United States will likely face an almost impossibly divided electorate leading to less and less cooperative efforts toward getting things done and a greater threat of a United States ruled by a totalitarian leaning government.

The legislative branch of the United States government will likely continue in the weak bickering state they've been in over the past administration as the next president issues more executive orders or relies on Supreme Court decisions to make law. Exactly how all this turns out will depend on the outcome of the election.

In the days to come we'll see more and more layers of the onion skin peeled away with more and more disturbing evidence about each candidate delivered by biased media. Truth and lies will be rampant leaving us to figure out which is which. And the candidates will have to steel themselves up to endure the onslaught. The voters might have a difficult time sorting it all out and in the end the issues and the impact on the future might not even matter. Maybe it will just come down to the superficial things. The nation will pay the price in the years to come. Or maybe reap the rewards--we can hope.

Why do you think anyone would subject themselves to such exposure for themselves and their families? Do you think this current election will sharpen the divide among people in the United States or bring them together? Do you believe the system is rigged?

The Battle of the Bands

Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens twice each month on the 1st and 15th. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

"Everybody Knows" (1988) This song first came to my attention when I saw Atom Egoyan's 1994 film Exotica. The original Leonard Cohen version was used in the soundtrack. My wife liked Cohen's vocal in the song and the song became one of her favorites. Since my wife liked the song so well I purchased a number of different CD's with covers of the song as well as Cohen's original version which has remained her favorite. I like the Don Henley cover which got frequent play on Los Angeles radio stations in the latter half of the nineties. "Everybody Knows" presents a bleak outlook of the world and human nature in general as it refers to a number of social issues and provides a commentary about the government and those under its rule. The song doesn't offer much hope for the future while delivering an acerbic judgement about humanity throughout the ages. Still, I find it to be an interesting song and not an unpleasant listening experience. If you want to reference the original Leonard Cohen version you can listen here, but please don't vote on it. Instead, listen to the following two versions and vote on your favorite of these two.

Time to Vote! I don't know if everybody knows what to do next so let me explain. Maybe it's not your style of music, but hopefully you'll keep a musically open mind in assessing the two versions. Let us know what you think about these two recordings. Is there one that you prefer over the other? Please give each song version a fair listen to decide which one you enjoy the most. If you don't like either then at least tell us which recording was least innocuous to you. This comes down to your preference and it's as easy as that.

Winner Announced on Friday October 21stThere will be no post on Monday in order for this post to get maximum exposure. However I'll be here on Friday October 21st to announce the winning version of "Everybody Knows." Not everybody knows which version is going to win the most votes, but on Friday you'll find out.

Public manipulation - excellent way to describe the media.I've always wondered why someone would go through that. Plus pay to go through that. Probably why Condoleezza Rice has never run for president - she's too smart to subject her family to the scrutiny and put up with all the mud slinging.

"Everybody knows the boat is sinking", pretty well sums it up! :P The vitriolic nature of American politics is shocking to many of us in Canada. We tend to be more mild-mannered. LOL I will actually be in California (settling my mother's estate) for U.S. election day and wish I had dual citizenship! My fervent hope is that all Americans will do their civic duty and get to the polls.

I remember this song from the series "Damages", which I was totally hooked on. Concrete Blonde's vocals are too jarring for me. Holly gives it the perfect cadence and she gets my vote.

"Everybody knows the poor stay poor and the rich get rich. That's how it goes." Yep, that's how it goes. Our country is so divided I don't think there can be any coming back. I really think Congress needs a complete overhaul and everybody there should be OUT. In with the New. Let's get some new blood in there, those with a willingness to work together to get things done. It's maddening to see the antics of these politicians. I can't imagine anyone wanting to put themselves in the running for a presidential election. You're right: families are so damaged during the process and everyone gets dirtied by all the mud slinging. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, that's for sure!

As for your battle, I'm going with Holly Figueora O'Reilly. I really liked her version.Great song choice.

I became obsessed with Mia Kirshner as a result of her performance in Exotica. (She still hasn't returned my calls or replied to my texts and emails.)

You're right, good buddy. There have been countless distractions this campaign season and it is time for Americans to set them aside and focus on the most important criteria for electing the next leader of the free world. Ask yourself this, citizen. Which candidate will keep us amused and entertained for the next four years? Which candidate has the hottest wife and daughters? There is only one clear choice, America. Don't screw it up by voting for the most qualified!

I am 1000% sure that your ears will match mine this time, Lee. :) Truth be told I don't like bleak songs unless they are given the extreme heavy metal treatment. I didn't particularly care for either version of "Everybody Knows" offered here because they are so low key, but I am picking the second one, by Holly Figueroa O'Reilly, because her voice was less grating on my nerves and because I enjoyed the guitar picking that accompanied her. I vote for Holly.

Shady, I think I'll have to watch Exotica again since it's been a very long time and it would probably be fresh to me now.

It's been a crazy election year--fascinating, yet stressful and disturbing in many ways. I think that what we think of as the most politically qualified are really the skeaves who skew the system and not in our favor. They know the tricks and all the dishonest workings of the system. I'd rather see a political novice in place to see what they could actually accomplish. But then again, maybe the system taints the players to where all become corrupt and part of the ruling monster machine that runs things that affect our lives. Whatever the case, we'll see what direction we'll begin on in a few weeks.

This is a great match up; each singer really brings a different emotive quality to the song. The "sing-speak" way Concrete Blonde does it gives it an almost sinister quality. Actually goes with the lyrics well.

Holly Figueroa O'Reilly's version seems really down to earth, like we're all sitting around, strumming an acoustic guitar, and Holly just starts singing.

Hey Lee.Well firstly let me apologize for my absence for so long, everything will become clear in due course. Anyway,Personally I'm in favor of the second artist Holly but as I've never heard this song before it doesn't make much difference to me anyway. The fact that you have linked this song to your presidential election is very interesting indeed. I'm from South Africa and have seen first hand the results of the elections in the So Called United States Of America. My Prayer for the people of your country is that they wake up and see what is being done and vote with their wisdom parts and not their lady parts.May my God have mercy on the United States Of America and lead them in the direction He wants them to go. God's will be done. Geoff.

Geoff, so good to see you back! Believe it or not I've been thinking of you recently so I'm glad you showed up today.

I've been distraught about the course this election has been taking. I actually fear where this country would go under one candidate while I think the other is worth trying out since we have no political track by which to judge. It's a crap shoot with one and a loaded dice with another.

You might be surprised by the press of the past and the stories they concocted and/or printed. Believe it or not, things are way better now. With politicians, too. I mean, no one this century has pulled out a club and beaten another senator near to death with it during the middle of a session.

Andrew, concocted biased stories in the print media are less manipulative than the continuous assault of biased "reporting" on television. The most easily duped voting age populace is shaped far more from television than print media which in recent years has been steadily losing readership.

Two senators going at it to where there is injury or even death likely does far less damage to the citizenry than the massive smear campaigns which can ruin individuals, hurt families, and create a lot of distrust and disillusionment among the people. Your example is two guys mano a mano while what we have today is anger and a potential for a future civil war or clashes among disagreeing groups of people.

Nope, I'm talking about the days when people literally made shit up about the people they didn't want elected. Hmm... Like the one about Clinton being a drug addict. But that's been going on for HUNDREDS of years. Maybe you should look it up.

Andrew, I'm not researching a book about media lying nor am I interested in wasting time looking it up--I'm well aware that people who want to sling mud have existed probably as long as there has been an organized social structure that involved politics. It's human nature.

Clinton being a drug addict? I missed that one or are you conflagrating Trump's suggestion about drug tests before the debate? That was not suggesting a drug addiction, but the possible use of performance enhancing drugs or something that would be hopping up Hillary to maintain her stamina for the debate. Actually this was something that I was questioning before Trump even said it.

So much has been either made up, distorted, or taken out of context where Donald Trump is concerned that it's absolutely absurd. I've never seen anything to this extreme in my lifetime nor has it likely ever happened to this extent in times prior to radio and television. It has happened to some degree, but now with internet and television especially this deception is greater than ever.

>>... Most of all, the candidates themselves are stripped naked and their dirtiest secrets are revealed.

Unless your name is Hellary Clinton and the significant power of the Mainstream Media works to ignore or cover up your worst crimes so the ignorant Americonned Sheeple remain ignorant.

I was starting to think I'd gone to the wrong post because that was quite a lengthy build up to the BOTB segment. It was nicely tied in though and I dug it just fine.

This song is new to me but I like it. In terms of meaning and mood, it reminds me of a couple later-period Bob Dylan songs I like a lot: 'Things Have Changed' and 'Everything Is Broken'.

Although I think the CONCRETE BLONDE version went on a little too long, I'm still voting for it because I thought that girl's voice matched the moodiness of the lyrics better. She sounded darker and instrumentally it had some neat, subtle things happening.

STMcC, I was trying to keep my intro short, but I wanted to say what was on my mind as well.

I'm amazed at the blatant bias shown by the media, but I'm not surprised. I'm disgusted, but not disheartened--yet. This thing still has a few weeks to go and tables can be turned drastically in that interim.

Thanks for the kind words and the vote with substantiating commentary to back that vote. If only all voters in the presidential race will reason their choice as well as you did for a song.

My vote for Holly, because I liked the background music, the mournful sound accentuating the frustration at things we can't change. . . Her voice was clear. I felt the first version relied on the visuals to carry the song along. I did like the strong voice on the 'Concrete' version. The election for the President of the US shouldn't be a carny act and this seems to be what's happened. We in Canada are concerned as to the outcome in the US, as it affects its northern neighbour as well.

DG, the media eggs on the circus-like atmosphere of election seasons. It's been like that as far back as I can remember going back to the sixties. This year it's worse, but there may be a lot more at stake this time around.

Lee, the election process is a painful one. The system is totally rigged with the left making sure to ignore or totally cover up facts. The media is about as crooked as Hillary. Donald Trump doesn't need the job as the next CEO of the United States of America but he's tired like so many of us with the way the left and rhinos are taking this country who are hell bent on destroying our home, our way of life, and Americans. 'Everything is Broken' is an excellent tie with the election and BoTB. I loved the TV series Damages! After listening to both covers, Concrete Blonde won me over even with her strange vocals. At firs I wasn't sure if I liked her or not but after hearing Holly it was a no-brainer for me. Sure, I'm in the minority on this one but I've gotta go with what sounds good to me. Please give my vote to Concrete Blonde!

Cathy, what the media focuses on and what they selectively ignore is absurd. The voters are being deceived unless they go to a wide range of sources and hear all arguments in their totality. For a long time I've been sick of who's been running our system and I am ready to see someone at least try some new approaches.

I have no idea why anyone would want to be president. I would never want to put my family through such a grueling experience. I don't know if the system is rigged or not but I think it has a lot of problems that need to be addressed.

Kathleen, we can look at who's gotten the presidency for the past many decades and get a sense that the system is rigged. One party seems much the same as the other when it comes to actually getting things done. Anyone who does run for president has to harden themselves and get their family members to do the same.

I do think the system is rigged and I really hope that hateful rapist Trump goes down in flames. But either way we will be divided, nothing is going to bring us together. I don't like Hillary either. But the last thing we need is a man in the white house who advocates for sexual assault. I can just see it now, 'the president said it was ok'. Ugh.

Why didn't you know about this already? Because you get ALL of your news from the brain-washing, dumbing-down, Marxist Mainstream Media, that's why! And you NEVER actively make ANY attempt whatsoever to HONESTLY look at what the opposition has to say. You look at everything from one side ONLY. It's "deplorable"!

JoJo, Trump's past actions will have little to no effect on any of us while what Hillary will do will have seriously bad repercussions on all Americans as well as the world. I'm hedging my bet with Trump as Hillary's agenda is one that I'm very much against.We've only got 2 real choices--for the present at least.

This has been going on since at least Hamilton/Burr, which was a duel that happened for exactly these reasons. But the executive/legislative feuding has been going on since at least Clinton, continued steadily into Bush's administrations, and clipped right along with Obama's. This sort of nonsense should be beneath politicians, but it's thoroughly indicative of the general American self-loathing that has typified the country since its origins. It's amazing we ever get along, and not at all surprising that we fought a civil war less than a hundred years after our founding.

Tony, things like this have been going on beyond the settling of the Americas to the royal families of Europe to way back in history of Biblical times and throughout the world. It's within us I guess. You say that politicians shouldn't be the types to do such nonsense but I think those who are willing to go into politics are the ones who are most like this. I wouldn't be overly surprised to see civil war within this country sometime in the next 5 to 10 years--maybe less. The divide in our time has far greater implications than during Civil War times and it's all made so much simpler with modern technology.

Manipulation is always part of the media...part of tv actually. I can't wait u til the farce is done with. Now as for the music, I Holly's rrendition better. It held my attention and her voice seemed better. The first one literally made my eyes close

I can't for the life of me imagine why someone would open their families up to this level of exposure. Themselves, sure. Some people love to be in the limelight. Unfortunately, that light gets cast on everyone within its reach.

I think the current election has already increased the great divide. It is impossible to read a blog, website, other social media without finding people bickering about it. I think it may bring together some factions, but those factions will be divided from each other and never find compromise.

I believe the system is rigged to a degree and definitely outdated. It is weighted toward the wealthy all the way around. Never in my lifetime has someone living at poverty level become president. You have to have money to campaign, etc. With enough money, those running can sway things to their favor, buy votes, pay to have things hidden, and pay to bump off those that would tell one's dirty secrets.

I think each person's vote should count, not be put into the hands of the electoral college, especially since they don't have to vote the way we want them to. If each person's vote was counted, it would be more fair than telling the delegates to vote this way only to have them vote that way.

Politics isn't my "thing". I research the candidates to the best of my ability. I go and vote and pray that the right person gets in. Otherwise, I just mostly stay out of political discussions.

Suzanne, the electoral college is the ultimate rigging of the system I think. I still haven't been convinced of its practicality. Political discussions can get so ugly and create such rifts that I rarely engage unless I know how the other party feels and that they are either reasonable with discussion or they see things the way I do.

For this election I think a lot of praying will be in order. I predict some tough times ahead after the new president takes office.

Oh and yeah, it's rigged for the rich. No $$$ no chance in hell of winning. So then you have to make deals with the devil to get said money and before you know it you are as corrupt as the last candidate.

The Holly version was by far the better - clearer, you could hear the words, more musical. Of course no-one can improve on Leonard. And yes, everybody knows but who 'acts' on that knowledge or listens to -

Why? Power, or love for a country under siege by those who have it. The divide began eight years ago, the media have helped widen the gap with one-sided coverage. This has been on-going and not just since the election process.

This battle is an excellent accompaniment to your beginning statement! As discouragingly true as the song lyrics are, I prefer Holly's lighter tone and delivery.

Diedre, the media has long been mostly a mouthpiece for the left. The way things are going conservatives will not stand a chance in future elections. It's scary to see the power of the influence exerted by the media--they are changing the mindset of the American public.

Thank you for writing the election post that I would have written had I not talked myself out of it (because I wouldn't have been so calm and well-spoken about it! If I am again tempted, I'll just blog a link to THIS post.)At this point, I should put in a plug about tomorrow's post about the 15 "write-in" candidates eligible on the Indiana ballot. Y'all will love that Fox lady!

On the vote, I have to go with Concrete Blonde. I guess it's my shallow tastes and the more commercial sound.

CW, I hear you--it's difficult not to just fly into a raging rant, but I didn't want what I had to say to eclipse the BOTB part of this. I'll have to remember to check out your post. I've talked myself out of writing several posts that might have been considered over the top by some readers. But who knows, I might write some of them yet.

I wouldn't call your taste shallow, but a matter of preference--that's all it ever amounts to.

I feel it is my patriotic duty to vote, even though I am not especially thrilled with my choices.

I am referring, of course, to this BOTB selection! In the Presidential election I am CHAMPING at the bit to vote for Trump. Not because I think he will necessarily be wonderful... he probably won't be. But because I will be doing my part to try to keep out a member of the worst family since the Borgias.

For this BOTB thang, I am not a huge fan of the song, nor of the contestants. I guess I will vote for the lesser of two evils in Concrete Blonde.

SBB6, Trump will likely be far more wonderful than the president we've had for the past two terms. And Hillary would be worse so I think the choice here should be clear to anyone who can reason this out.

I'm finding this election to be utterly disappointing and so depressing. I can't imagine why anyone would want to run for office. I'm really not happy with the choices this year, so it will be more a matter of voting for the person who I can stomach better for four years.

Ellen, don't be duped by the media when you make your decision. The people are being lied to a lot by what we think is journalism and news. Don't trust these sources--they are manipulating the minds of the viewers, listeners, and readers.

One's a murderer who's secretly dying, the other's a Mexican-hating rapist. I really don't know how to vote, but ultimately, I think I'm going to go with the latter, Concrete Blonde.

Wait, did you think I was talking about politics? (I saw on CNN that Concrete Blonde said we should deport illegal citizens, which actually means they're racist and hate Mexicans).

Honestly, we've wanted to joke more about the election on our blog, but it's been so mentally and emotionally taxing that we just can't. So kudos to you for having the mental fortitude to say what WAY more people need to open their ears to.

Question everything. If you hear about something and you want to know for certain if it's true, research it. We live in the era of Google, where you can find an answer in less than 5 minutes without leaving your home. It's not like you have to drive to a library and start sorting through microfiche (oh God, did I just date myself?).

I think what amazes me most about this election is how many people are so brazenly passionate about a particular candidate while knowing absolutely zero truth about either of them. Imagine if you had two people arguing which book was better - Moby Dick or Anna Karenina - while neither person had read either book, only scanned over the summary. That's what most of these online squabbles look like to me.

Beer, thank God for the internet because I never could figure out that microfiche stuff. But as you say the answers (as well as the lies) are all quickly accessible if one takes the time to use common sense and some historical knowledge to sort it all out. I don't think we've ever seen two more open book candidates as we have now--they've been under media scrutiny for decades so the info is all out there. Anyone who was paying attention all along knew what we were getting before this campaign even started and now we are getting an even more perceptive open door look into these two candidates.

I've been so hesitant about saying much of anything on my blog about this election because I know how volatile the topic can be. Already I've been unfriended on FB because a few people seemed to perceive which candidate I support. Not that imaginary FB friends matter that much. But I would like to keep my blog readers--although maybe that doesn't matter that much either.

Guess I'll pick Anna Karenina because I saw two versions of the movie. Never read either book. However I did see that Ron Howard movie that was kind of about Moby Dick, but since it wasn't actually the movie about Moby Dick I can give a fair judgement about the book. Who reads those damn old books anyway? They don't have zombies, vampires, or dystopian societies in them so they don't sound very relevant.

I don't have a clue why anyone would choose to run for president and subject themself and their family to such public scrutiny. Yes, there's been far too much mudslinging and I'm appalled at how far the media has gone to manipulate the election. Both candidates are flawed, that's a given, but why can't the media report fairly on both sides. There's been so many lies that I just want the election to end. I've never seen anything like it. It's no secret that I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton. I said it even before the leaked emails, she will do whatever she can and hurt anyone and everyone in the process. She feels like she is entitled to become the next POTUS. I am NOT in any way downplaying the horrific remarks made by Trump, but those remarks were during what he thought was a private conversation. He was in the entertainment industry and not running for office. Does that make it right ... Hell no! His words were offensive. I'm having trouble with all these women who just happened to come forward with their sexual abuse allegations just weeks before the election. It seems too orchestrated to me. Please do not misinterpret what I said. All victims of sexual abuse have the right to be believed and heard. and if he is guilty then he deserves punishment. The victim of a sexual crime should never be blamed. It is NEVER the victim's fault. AND IT IS NEVER OKAY TO COMMIT SUCH AN ACT! I just think the timing is odd and the fact that most of them are represented by Gloria Allred, and she also helped women bring false allegations against McCain, which were proven false. I was a prosecutor for 20 years and people do make false sexual abuse claims and those false claims destroys lives. I am not dismissing these women's claims as false. None of us can possibly know the truth, but given we only have a couple of weeks until the election and we live in a country in which a person is innocent UNLESS AND UNTIL proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Is there a reason to doubt the claims? Everyone must make their own choice. What we do know through the leaked emails and recently leaked video is that the Clinton campaign sabotaged Bernie Sanders and has made every effort to do the same to Trump. We know that Clinton lied about her deleted emails, Benghazi and so much more. We know that she, not Trump, has a personal relationship with Putin. We've learned that the violence at the Trump rallies was staged by the DNC. All of this has made me lose my faith in the entire system.

The absolute worst part of it all is that the media has gone from reporting and being journalist to clearly and openly campaigning for Clinton. Why else would they spend 23 minutes on Trumps's accusers vs less than 1 minute on the horrid revelations of the wiki leaked emails. Clearly we have the two most unpopular candidates ever, but the closer the election gets the more obvious it becomes that the Dem's or Clintons are extremely fearful of losing the power they've held for too long and will stop at nothing to keep it.

Is the election rigged? The media has made it nearly impossible for the public to hear a fair and balanced view of what both candidates have done wrong and what they stand for. We know that there has been voter fraud, but I can't access that crime to anyone with a reasonable degree of certainty. I have my thoughts, but they are not fact. The system has manipulated the public. The media has manipulated the information available to the public. Both candidates are bad, and Trump continues to hurt himself. I don't know how we, as a country will ever recover. We cannot even trust the highest law enforcement office anymore. I am just in shock and sickened by the entire election.

Battle of the Bands ... perfect song. I listened to to the original which was different and it had the lyrics, so I like that. My vote goes to Holly Figueroa O'Reilly. At first, I thought I would vote for Concrete Blonde, because I loved it, but then I listened to the second one and it stole the show.

Melissa, Whew! What a great comment and there's not much that I can disagree with. Whatever happened to the days when we could expect news from the media and not a continual skewed analysis and commentary. It's a travesty what we get crammed into our faces now. I've lost total respect for CNN and never had much for MSNBC.

As for Trump being "bad" and continuing to hurt himself, I would argue that this perception is what is mostly conveyed by media reporting and lies and distortions coming from other quarters. I listen to what he says and my interpretations are always very different from what gets reported and what other people say later. It really is a mess and I can only hope that after this election there is a serious introspection by media arms and an intelligent evaluation of what happened by the people. But I'm not sure that this will happen and our country will be more manipulation, more mindless entertainment, and a continuation of the dumbing down of the American people.

>>... "We know that there has been voter fraud, but I can't access that crime to anyone with a reasonable degree of certainty. I have my thoughts, but they are not fact.

Following are facts. An actual confession from the Democrat National Committee. Facts don't get any better than a reluctant, almost disappointed confession from the man who would know...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUDTcxIqqM0

Yep. The DNC has been loaded with lying cheats for as long as any of us have been alive. It's really an arm of the Communist Party, where the prevailing maxims are: "By any means necessary, gain power" and "The end justifies the means".

Melissa gets the award for outstanding comment. And Stephen T. McCarthy gets the award for an amazing assist. And I need a drink.

In the meantime, I've listened to both of these songs on repeat. I'd never heard this song before. Turns out, I really like it. At first, I didn't care for the Concrete Blondes version, but it grew on me. I still don't like it as much as Holly's version (she gets my vote), but I like it more than I did on the first listen... which goes to show that familiarity does breed likability.

Robin, no intention to be depressing here though sometimes the truth can get us down unless we do something about what's happening. I just had to say something where I have a tendency to stifle my thoughts much of the time. I could use a drink and maybe something else along with it.

I think this is a pretty great song with as much or more relevance now than it had when it was written. Ol' Leonard has proven himself to be prophetic with his lyrics more times than once.

Hi Lee. Well you and some of your readers may find this post depressing but I don't. I am so impressed by the number of people who can see what is going on and having talked to a number of people in my country who have also supported Donald. At one stage I was also depressed by what was going on, (This will affect my country too), but am now feeling much better. Maybe people are not as gullible as I was thinking. When I mentioned Hillary's antics to one woman I was convinced would support her totally, her reaction really floored me. "The reason she's attacking him so viciously is she's loosing." Thanks for a great post, very encouraging, Geoff.

Geoff, Trump has been at times crude and he's full of bombast, but Hillary has been involved with things that I would classify as evil and damaging to the U.S. and even the world. I think Trump is genuine, but Hillary is agenda driven with an agenda that is not a good one and she's an absolute phony. There is a lot of phoniness in politics and in this election many politicians have been exposed for their phoniness. Hopefully a lot of people are listening.

Boy, do I believe there are plenty of phonies in politics. It's so difficult to trust anyone. But I hope those who need to, see all this, Lee. It's difficult to discover truths during campaigning. Here's hoping. All the best, sir.

I'll go with Concrete Blonde on the song, because I love the way Johnette Napolitano did it. (I'm assuming that's her name; I had to look it up.)

I always believed that who the president was didn't matter that much, because he or she was constrained by the Congress and the Supreme Court, but over the years the president seems to do whatever the hell he wants because Congress is too lazy or too scared to put up a fight and the Court tends to rubber-stamp whatever the president does. That bothers me greatly.

John, traditionally the system of checks and balances has seemed to work, but as you say this seems to have fallen by the wayside to some great extent. Still I think that if Trump won and tried to do something crazy I think he would be constrained by other government agencies. However I think Hillary might be able to get away with more and that's the scary part.

The first time I heard this song was in the movie "Pump the Volume" with a very young Christian Slater in the leading role. I loved the tune and since then I have loved Leonard. As it happens I am halfway through an article on his life and work that came out in The New Yorker a week ago.

Cuban, the song has been used in a number of films and TV shows and understandably so as it makes a point that many films have alluded to. It's difficult for lower echelons to break out of their place and move up. The ruling class is like a secret club.

I preferred the Concrete Blonde version, since I felt the vocal treatment better matched the overall mood and theme of the song.

A long time ago, I wanted to be the first female president, though I'm not sure I could withstand the kind of media scrutiny and armchair politics which go along with anyone's campaign. I really wish the U.S. didn't have a two-party system, though that seems unlikely to change anytime soon.

Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.I normally try to respond to all comments in the comment section so please remember to check the "Email follow-up comments" box if you want to participate in the comment conversation.

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A juggler of words and phrases. My main blog is Tossing It Out. The focus blog for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge can now be found at a-to-zchallenge.com where updates will be posted until the event in April begins.
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